Basic Health Care for Your New Kitten
The Importance of Vaccinating, Worming And Neutering Your Cat
Apr 25, 2009
Taking care of a new kitten takes more than just a cozy bed and a bowl of food. While it is a huge responsibility, and can seem daunting, knowing what to expect will put you in good stead as an owner. While there are no guarantees that your cat will never suffer from an illness over its lifetime, preventative measure such as vaccination and worming and a good diet will give your pet the best chance at a healthy lifestyle.
Vaccinations
Vaccinations are essential to protect your kitten against infectious diseases such as Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV/AIDS), Enteritis, Respiratory Disease (cat flu), Chlamydia and Leukemia (FLV). Kittens require 3 vaccinations: the first at 6-8 weeks, 10-12 weeks and 14-16 weeks, then an annual booster for the rest of it’s life to ensure their immunity against these diseases.
It is important to keep your kitten inside until it is fully vaccinated as some diseases are passed on via saliva and cat-to-cat contact or via contaminated faeces, and while your kitten may not be able to jump the fence yet to get out, other cats may jump into your backyard.
Intestinal Worming
It is common for kittens to have worms passed on from their mother, so worming in kittens should be done regularly. Kittens should be wormed from 2 weeks of age, every 2 weeks until they are 12 weeks old, then monthly until they are 6 months old. After this age, they should be wormed every 3 months for life. Flea control is also important for controlling flea tapeworm.
Heartworm
Cats can get heartworm too. Heartworm is a worm that lives in the heart and blood vessels. Heartworm is spread when a mosquito bites an infected animal, and then bites your cat, passing on the heartworm. Preventative medications are available in a variety of forms such as monthly chewable tablets for cats the more convenient liquid ampoules squeezed onto the back of the neck. Before heartworm preventative medication is given, it is advisable to have your veterinarian perform a test to ensure that your pet doesn’t already have heartworm.
Fleas
Fleas are often brought home with the new kitten and can continue to multiply if not controlled. There are many products available to control fleas, the most convenient are the monthly ampoules squirted on the back of your cat’s neck, where your cat reach to lick it off during grooming.
Diet
It is important to feed your kitten a premium quality diet and always provide fresh water. Premium diets (eg. Iams, Eukanuba) provide your pet with all the nutrients they need so there is no need to add supplements of any kind. On a premium diet, adding supplements is dangerous and can lead to over-supplementation and disease.
Dental Care
Feeding a good quality diet and providing chicken necks for your cat, dental chews or toys on a regular basis will minimize the risk of your kitten getting dental disease later in life. Your veterinarian should check your cat’s teeth at the annual vaccination.
Neutering
Cats that have been neutered make better pets, they wander and fight less, and there is no reason (unless you are a breeder) to not have your cat neutered. Neutering significantly reduces the risk of females developing mammary tumors or uterine infections, and males developing prostate or testicular cancer. Neutering is usually performed at between 4-6 months of age, although this can vary from clinic to clinic, so check with your local veterinarian.
 |
